A 3.5 mile branch line was opened in 1864, between Faringdon and the Great Western Railway (GWR) at Uffington, with construction funded by the Faringdon Railway Company (purchased outright by the GWR in 1886). Passenger traffic peaked in 1913, but later declined to such extent that the passenger service was withdrawn in 1951. Freight traffic continued to use the line until the Beeching cuts of 1964. The station building is still extant, having been used for various commercial purposes (currently a nursery school).

[

Geology

Numerous borings in a Cretaceous cobble, Faringdon, England; these are excellent examples of fossil bioerosion.

Faringdon is home to the famous Faringdon Sponge Gravel, a Cretaceous unit filled with spectacular fossil sponges, other invertebrates, a few vertebrate bones and teeth, and wonderful examples of bioerosion.

[

Dyed pigeons

Faringdon is also famous for the dyed pigeons at Faringdon House. The custom of dyeing pidgeons was originally started by the eccentric Lord Berners.^{[citation needed]}

[

External links

• Faringdon.org Community Site
• Faringdon.co.uk Business & Community Site
• Faringdon Town Council Site
• Faringdon Chamber of Commerce Site
• Faringdon Advertiser Site
• The Folly Tower Trust
• Picture of the Folly
• BBC website ref. Faringdon Folly with panoramic view of Faringdon
• Faringdon Workhouse